It Happened on Vashon

My Vashon Island life, chronicled on and off since 2006. Family, friends, travel, open water swimming, chickens, honeybees, foraging, growing stuff, practicing PR. A very good life in a beautiful Pacific NW setting.

Monday, November 26, 2007

What a holiday!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Giving thanks

This will be the first year in many I have co-hosted a rather large Thanksgiving feast. I take solace in knowing there is a professional (x-) chef in the kitchen "runnin tings inna pro stylee, mon!" The fridge is stocked, the lists are made and the prep has begun.

A tiny dining table in the nook won't cut it for a feast and 10 of us, so Craigslist saved the day and we found a cool antique table for a steal to seat 8. That and a kid table makes us golden. I realize now just how unprepared I was to have more than four guests over given the place settings i lacked. Bettie provided lovely ramekins for the desserts. Stephen at the wine shop had a perfect set of stems he pulled out of the back room and sold us at the asking. And hot damn, we pulled everything together and the rest is in the execution.

The weekend will bring added fun with a trip to play on the coast. It's razor clamming season and the waves should be nice for our resident surfer. Let's do this!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Great, great Northwest

Monday, November 12, 2007

MRSA me

60 Minutes recently reported some 6,ooo people die of community based MRSA each year, MRSA being the antibiotic resistant form of Staph. On Vashon it is rampant and has been rampant for several years. The fact the local TV news has glommed onto this topic only now shows it is story hungry.

On the news November 12, Gov. Chris Gregoire announced there will be legislation mandating that doctors must report MRSA cases to the state. ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS HAS NOT BEEN DOCUMENTED and tracked? Even STDs are reported to the Centers for Disease Control--and that's a national dbase, and yet a potentially lethal staph is just left unmonitored in its statistical diagnoses?

Island docs told me there is MRSA galore crawling through the place, when I had to take Al and then me to get checked out. Alex ended up with MRSA two years ago on his knee; he was in excruciating pain and after weeks of lancing, hot soaks, repacking the wound and applying a special ointment (and taking oral antibios) the infection finally subsided. It left behind a crater-like scar in his knee, however, one that's had a flare-up a couple times since.

The high school gym has been quarantined for a scrub-down more than a few times. After the first year of the kids wrestling season in Dec 2005 I ended up with MRSA in my nailbed and it was VERY painful. I can only imagine how Alex's must have felt since his infection covered a much broader area. It's not about washing the gym; it's more about washing the people! Stay clean!

Friday, November 09, 2007

Sister, Brother

San Diego, Summer. Kris just sent me this photo from our reunion. He is 11 years my junior--same mom, different dad. I love him very much. All the sibs are artistic: Kris is a pro photographer, I make a great living as a copywriter and Brion shreds on the electric guitar. He is an artisan housepainter by day, punk rocker by night. This was taken in front of the Mission Beach condo rental Aunt Shirley had during July 4 week. I love my family. The family shot is in Coronado.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Commitments

I believe that athletics are important in my boys' lives. The last thing I want is for the kids to become media fixated junkees sated by little more than TV and computer/video games. I also believe that attending practices and games establishes discipline, friendships and gets the kids sweating. This is all good. No bad.

To that end, I maintain the commitment to them to shuttle/outfit them for any athletics they want to pursue. This year I have one child who wants to wrestle and one who may be happier sitting it out. This would be their third year and it is a solid time sacrifice, but only for two+ months. After both kids committed they would TRY it out, we jumped in to practice very late. I found out that the next practice--when they were not at my household-- they missed.

It takes discipline for the parent to drive this initiative, drop whatever else they are doing and get the kids motivated. Zach tells me he and his brother had to stay and carve pumpkins (with a "do you REALLY want to go?" prompting as the only effort to take them to practice).

At this point, the momentum we initiated is completely moot and I find myself in a situation where any chance of the boys participating in athletics will be up to me--and me alone. For wrestling, I am willing to take on the Weds and full day Saturday; all that is needed from the other household is Monday practices. I see it's not going to happen. It does no good to pack their gear if they haven't attended consecutive practices.

So what Island program is ONLY held Weds-Sat that I can get them in (on my time)? I'd love to know.

Ski season is approaching and I'll be on that hill with the kids at every turn. I enjoy involvement with the kids' teachers, but for athletics, in the meantime, I am baffled. Tis the fallout of split parenting.

About Me

North End Vashon Islander and mom to two awesome young men. Blissfully married to David, the multi-talented avenger. Making my own living, not spending other people's money. Living on Vashon Island, pop 10,000, land of lawyers, naturalists, artists, foodies, and so many backstories. Wanna read some?